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Level Independent Chinese · HSK 3

刚, 曾经, 从来, 自从 and Verb + 了 + Time + 了

English uses the present perfect for a lot of this: "I've just arrived", "I've never been", "I've lived here for five years". Chinese has no such tense, so it uses adverbs and, for ongoing durations, a second 了.

刚 vs 刚才

刚 (gāng) is an adverb before the verb: "just", relative to now, and the gap can be days or months (我刚来北京一个月). 刚才 (gāngcái) is a time word: "a moment ago", minutes at most, and it can go before the subject.

  • 我刚到。

    Wǒ gāng dào.

    I've just arrived.

  • 我刚来北京一个月。

    Wǒ gāng lái Běijīng yí ge yuè.

    I've only been in Beijing a month.

  • 刚才有人给你打电话。

    Gāngcái yǒu rén gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.

    Someone called you a moment ago.

曾经, 从来不, 从来没…过

曾经 (céngjīng) + verb + 过: "once, at one time". 从来不 (cónglái bù): "never" as a habit or principle. 从来没 + verb + 过: "have never (ever)" as an experience. 始终 is "all along, from start to finish".

  • 我曾经在中国工作过。

    Wǒ céngjīng zài Zhōngguó gōngzuò guo.

    I once worked in China.

  • 他从来不喝酒。

    Tā cónglái bù hē jiǔ.

    He never drinks.

  • 我从来没见过他。

    Wǒ cónglái méi jiàn guo tā.

    I've never met him.

Since: 自从…以后 / 以来

自从 (zìcóng) + event + 以后 / 以来: "ever since". 至今 is a written "up to now". 很久没…了 is "haven't ... for ages".

  • 自从搬家以后，我很少见到他。

    Zìcóng bān jiā yǐhòu, wǒ hěn shǎo jiàndào tā.

    Since I moved, I've hardly seen him.

  • 我们很久没见了。

    Wǒmen hěn jiǔ méi jiàn le.

    We haven't seen each other for ages.

Verb + 了 + time + 了: still going

One 了 after the verb plus one at the end means the time has passed so far and it's still continuing. Without the final 了, the action is over.

SentenceMeaning
我学了两年中文。I studied Chinese for two years (and stopped).
我学了两年中文了。I've been studying Chinese for two years (and still am).

  • 我在这儿住了五年了。

    Wǒ zài zhèr zhù le wǔ nián le.

    I've lived here for five years.

  • 他学中文学了三年了。

    Tā xué Zhōngwén xué le sān nián le.

    He's been studying Chinese for three years.

Still and at present: 仍然, 目前

仍然 (réngrán) and 仍 are written versions of 还 (still). 已 and 早已 are written "already" and "long since". 目前 (mùqián) is "at present", a period; 现在 is "now".

  • 雨仍然在下。

    Yǔ réngrán zài xià.

    It's still raining.

  • 目前情况还不错。

    Mùqián qíngkuàng hái búcuò.

    At present, things are going fairly well.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我刚才到北京一年。

    ✓我刚到北京一年。

    Wǒ gāng dào Běijīng yì nián.

    刚才 is only for a moment ago. For "just" relative to a longer span, use 刚.

  • ✗我从来没去北京。

    ✓我从来没去过北京。

    Wǒ cónglái méi qù guo Běijīng.

    "Never (in my experience)" needs 过.

  • ✗我从来不见过他。

    ✓我从来没见过他。

    Wǒ cónglái méi jiàn guo tā.

    过 goes with 没, not 不. 从来不 is for habits.

Questions learners ask

Does 刚 take 了?

Usually not: 我刚吃完饭 (I've just eaten). The 刚 already places the event.

Is 曾经 formal?

A little. In conversation 以前…过 does the same job: 我以前在中国工作过.

Practice this in lessons

The Everyday Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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